CASE OF THE ANDALUSIAN FOWL 39 



Andalusians amongst his chickens, and he would not 

 be able to sell the blacks and whites, which would 

 make up the remaining 50 per cent., at anything like 

 the price which the Andalusians fetch. ]\Ir. Sturges, 

 in his " Poultry Manual," states (p. 244) that these 

 so-called mismarked chicks are usually Idlled at an 

 early age or sold as wasters, f 



The breeder familiar with the Mendelian pheno- 

 menon would never mate Andalusians together, but 

 keep a small stock of blacks and whites, and always 

 pair black cocks with white hens, or vice versa. In 

 this way he would be relieved of the expense of 

 rearing, and the trouble of getting rid of the black 

 and Ihe white wasters ; and would be certain of 

 raising 100 per cent. Andalusians, all of which he 

 would sell at good prices. 



The case of the Andalusian fowl places the whole 

 question of the fixation of varieties in an entirely 

 new light. 



Breeders have long been familiar with certain 

 varieties which were tolerably easily fixed, and with 

 others which seemed to withstand every effort of 

 the breeder to fix their qualities. The Andalusian 

 fowl has for long been a flagrant example of such 

 an unfixable variety. For fifty years it has been 

 bred, and it comes true to type no more now than 

 when the attempt to fix it began. The reason is 

 simply that the Andalusian is a hybrid : the par- 

 ticular blue colour, which characterises it, is peculiar 

 to and only manifested by the hybrid bird, whether 

 this be produced by the union of such hybrids or 



